


blood of the earth

by MythologicalHoe



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blind Character, Blindness, Bloodbending (Avatar), Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Physical Disability, Slow Burn, Some creative liberties with the avatar system yadda yadda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-02-15 20:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18676855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythologicalHoe/pseuds/MythologicalHoe
Summary: A boy from the Water Nation was kidnapped. Years later a Bloodbender helps the Fire Nation attack Jakku, a colony of Earthbenders and criminals.





	1. the bloodbender

The first thing that Rey was told as a girl was that she was weak, a blind orphan like her would never amount to anything special and she shouldn’t try to either. It might have affected her if she hadn’t grown up knowing that everyone around her was full of shit.  Jakku  had an underground fighting ring, one that gave you food as reward, and Rey was desperate. She needed something to bring in some income from her or she was going to starve. “Are you insane?” The Ringleader had asked her. 

“Are you insane?” Rey stuck out her tongue. “Just let me fight, jackass.” She was thirteen then, and probably considered the most annoying person in all of  Jakku . She made sure that she was, it was the only way that people wouldn’t try to walk all over her. She won the fight against an  Earthbender  that was probably ten times bigger than her that night, and got more food than she had ever seen in her life. 

The second thing that Rey learned was that no one was going to take her seriously. It was like being blind was enough to make people think that she was going to die in a few years, when that simply wasn’t going to happen. When the  Firelord’s  army came blazing through  Jakku  the first time, everyone was getting gathered up, ready to die. Rey however, was not ready to die. “You will submit to the  Firelord , or you will die.” Someone yelled. 

Everyone was kneeling. Rey could feel it through the Earth around her. “You,” She presumed that someone was talking to her. “Why aren’t you kneeling?” 

“Oh, you were talking to me?” Rey said. “Why should I submit to the  Firelord , I need something a little more than I’ll die in an unholy fire as the reason for me to submit to him.” When she said that, she knew that she was going to regret what she just said. All of her muscles seized and she ended up on the ground, kneeling like they had wanted her to. The hold on her body was let go. 

“There you go.” The more Rey listened to him, the more that she was convinced that the person talking to her was about her age. He started to walk to up to her and the other women and children there. Probably surveying their usefulness. “I need every bender in this village.” He said. “Even the women and children.” Rey had heard of this before. The Fire Nation killing Benders that they assumed a threat, but she had only heard of it happening in the Water Nation. Not here, never here. 

Earthbenders  were never a threat. “Right now ,  is a good time to offer yourself up, before we start killing the weak and defenseless. ” He pushed Rey into the ground. 

“Who are you calling defenseless, asshole?” Rey pushed herself up, and found her stance, finding where he was and using the Earth around her to erupt and send him backwards. Everyone started to scatter, but no one came to Rey’s defense, as usual. Fire erupted in a column, but it did not penetrate the wall of rock that Rey had pulled out from the ground. 

The  Bloodbender  had come back, tried to manipulate her limbs and kill her. That’s when Rey did something that she didn’t think she could. She outstretched her arms, sending a spurt of fire out towards him. She could feel the heat rage through her as she continued to fight. Heard someone say something about the Avatar. 

Even after she sent the Fire Nation’s army packing that day, her heroics went unnoticed, although that was something that she expected. 

The third thing that Rey learned about herself was that she was more than people gave her credit for. Able to do more than before. She started to get noticed when she kept the Fire Nation’s army out of  Jakku  for another time, on just her  Earthbending  alone. The orphanage could no longer hold her. She had her own little place to live, and people were grateful that she was there. 

She was the Avatar. 

***

“You were bested in combat?” It was a roar of disbelief, and incredulity, meant to shame him for the job that he’d done. He was supposed to kill other benders. Snoke had made his purpose clear when he had taken him from the Water Nation such a long time ago.  Kylo  knelt, knowing that it was best not to say anything that might make his punishment worse. 

“That’s not all,” Hux, one of the Generals said, “the girl that bested him was blind.” 

“What?” Snoke coughed. 

“I think that it’s not fair to completely limit Ren’s talents.” Phasma said. “She’s the Avatar.” In that moment,  Kylo  was happy for the woman that was on the other side of him. “And although she’s untrained she was able to catch him off-guard. He’s learned. I’m sure that it won’t happen again.” 

Kylo  was still trying to process the fact that someone else was the Avatar. His family was from a long line of Avatars, if a Skywalker was alive it was always them. And yet, here this girl was who wasn’t important in the least bit with powers that she could not begin to understand. “Find the girl, and bring her to me.” Snoke said. 

“But sir, shouldn’t we just kill her on sight?”  Kylo  knew that he shouldn’t open his mouth.

“Did I tell you that you could open your mouth, boy?” 

***

The first time that Rey made a friend, she was fifteen years old. She was grabbing food from the marketplace when something furry ran across her leg.  It purred, tugging at the edge of her pant leg. It was obvious that whatever it was wanted some food. Rey sighed and broke off some bread, letting it fall to the ground. The creature ate it gratefully. 

She didn’t account for the fact that it followed her though. She started to walk back to her house when she heard a little pitter patter behind her. “What are you doing?” She turned behind her, to the general direction of the noise. The creature pulled at her pants again. “I’m not feeding you anymore.” She hissed. 

It still tugged at the edge of her pants. That’s when Rey realized that it wanted her to follow it. She sighed, knowing that the day was probably not going to go as well as she wanted it to. The person she was brought to though, did not mean her any har m. It was a boy, about her age, and probably going to die at any second if he didn’t have any water. “ So  this is what you wanted?” She muttered to the little creature that had tugged her along. 

“Water?” The boy was laying down, probably tired from running away from something. Jakku got a lot of people like that. 

“What’s in it for me?” Rey asked. He didn’t say anything, just paused, and Rey guessed that he didn’t realize that she was joking. “I’m just kidding.” Rey told him. She threw the flask of water that she had latched to her belt to him. “Don’t drink too fast or you’ll throw up.” She told him. She heard the gulps of him downing her water and she sighed. 

“Are you from around here?” She asked. 

“No,” 

“Are you running from something?” The boy didn’t answer her. She turned around, “Come on. Civilization’s this way asshole, follow me or die in the desert.” She heard scuffling behind her as he got up and started running towards her. 

“Where are you taking me?” 

“To my place, you can crash there for the night and then leave.” She told him. 

“You don’t even know my name.” 

“I don’t really care.” She said. “But if you feel like you need to tell me it then that’s cool.” 

“I’m Finn.” There was a pause, and Rey guessed that he probably tried to give her his hand but she didn’t take it. It was then that he realized that she was blind. It took some people a few seconds some times. 

“Rey,” Rey said. They got back to the city. The sound of the marketplace filling her ears again as she got her bearings and remembered her way back to the small room that she called home. She opened the door and let Finn in. “Make yourself at home. It’s not much but it’s something.” She told him. “Only rule is don’t kill me or try to kill anyone else.” She said. 

“Thank you.” 

“No problem.” She said. “I’m going out.” 

“You’re not going to stay here?” 

“No,” Rey said. “You wouldn’t be able to steal much here. I have a bed and water and that’s about it. So, don’t get into trouble and I’ll be back eventually.” She left with not much of a word after that. 

***

_ Two koi fish circled each other in a pond. One darker than the other. They made slight ripples, following the circle the moon made in the pond.  _ _ Kylo _ _  sat at the edge, staring deeper into the pond, into the deep darknes _ _ s that was beneath the fish. This was a place that he had not been in a long time, and a place that he wasn’t so sure that he wanted to be at now. The air was frigid and cold, and it was oddly silent, but  _ _ Kylo _ _  Ren was not alone. In his dream, there was a girl.  _

_ Her hair was down  _ _ and in a braid _ _ , ornamental moon lilies had been woven into her brown hair and she sat down next to  _ _ Kylo _ _. He couldn’t see her face though. “You’re sad.” She said. “Why?”  _

_ “The last time I was here was the last time I saw my parents.” He told her that like this was someone he trusted, and  _ _ Kylo _ _  Ren trusted no one. “I didn’t think that I would be back here.” He said.  _

_ “Crazy things happen sometimes.” She said.  _

_ “Yeah,” He said, “I guess that they do.” The two of them were silent for a long time before she began to speak again. That voice sounded so familiar but he wasn’t sure where he had recognized it from.  _

_ “Can I ask you a question?” She asked him.  _

_ “Technically you just did, but sure.”  _

_ “Do you ever get lonely?” She asked. “Like really, really, lonely.”  _

_ “Yeah,” He said, “all the time. I think my parents are dead and I’ve never really had friends. Not until you.” He told her. “You’re not alone.”  _

Kylo  Ren woke up in a cold sweat, tangled in the thin blanket that he took with him to the quarters in his ship. There was a knock at the door and it opened up, Phasma stepped in. “How is you scar healing, sir?” She asked. 

“What do you want?” She actually looked like she was concerned about him. “We’re an hour out from the shores of Jakku.”

“Thank you for informing me.” He said. “I’ll be up in about twenty minutes.” She nodded and left the room. 

***

Rey could tell that something bad was going to happen. The Earth felt off, and not in a way that she could really explain. But as she walked around, unable to sleep, she thought that there were tremors that were trying to warn her of something. There was something coming that not even she could be ready for. “Ahem,” Someone coughed behind her. Rey jumped. 

“Holy crap.” She turned. Finn was right behind her. “What about don’t get into trouble and stay in my house did you listen to?” 

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“Nothing.” 

“Walking around at night’s dangerous. Especially around here.” 

“No one is going to beat me up out here, don’t worry.” This was why you weren’t nice to people. “You should go back home.” He didn’t move. “You don’t know where my place is do you?” 

“No.” Great. 

Just great. “Why?” 

“Can you bend?” She asked. He was silent. “If you’re answering I can’t hear nodding heads.” 

“Fire,” He said. Rey was silent for a second. “You’re a firebender.” 

“I’m not with the...” 

“It doesn’t matter.” She said. “There’s something wrong.” 

“How can you tell?” And that’s when the first hut that the two were standing by burst into flames.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I should have put this chapter out earlier but my perfectionism got the best of me

Everything changes when the Fire Nation attacks. Rey had been able to keep them away three times, but it seemed like the fourth time was the time that she wouldn’t be able to do it alone. There was death, kids screaming, and nothing Rey could really do about. This time they came to Jakku, and there were way too many of them. For once, Rey felt small. “We have to go.” Finn said. Everyone was dying. Rey was supposed to protect them. “We have to go,”

Rey felt like she was going to throw up. Finn didn’t give her time to. He pulled her away from her home, and towards safety. She should have been grateful, but she wasn’t.

  
“What the hell? Why did you do that?”

  
“There was no saving them,” She knew that he was right, but that didn’t make it feel right. Rey took in a deep breath, anger coursing through her veins. She had no idea where she was. The sand beneath her feet was slippery and not at all easy to walk on. Everything was fuzzy around her. As the minutes passed by Rey just became more and more aware 0f the fact that she had wanted to die, and that option had been taken from her. “Where are you going?” Rey didn’t answer. She just got up and walked. She didn’t want anyone to follow her, but of course, Finn was going to follow her.

  
***

Kylo Ren had gotten used to feeling hollow. It came with the brutal nature of his job. If he felt anything, he would be reduced to ashes in minutes, and that’s why he instead compartmentalized all of his emotions. He would lock it away in a box and watch it burn, like the Fire Nation did when they razed cities, and watched women and children burn. He didn’t enjoy watching people die, but he was good at killing people. He was good at commanding others to kill people as well.  
Remember, you are looking for the Avatar. He went through so many homes that night, saw innocent women and children cowering in their closets and beneath their beds, and when there was no one else watching he would tell that they needed to run. That was the only way that they were going to be able to survive. He knew that if Snoke found out about that, he would have him slaughtered. This one little rebellion was the only thing that he had.

He knew that Snoke was wiser, that he was right, but his method of warfare was brutal and antiquated. Ren didn’t kill women and children. He didn’t want to. He didn’t even want to kill the Avatar, like Snoke wanted him to. He would capture the girl and dispose of her before anything bad happened to anyone else, and then he would disappear into some place in the woods where he could live the rest of his life out in peace.

That was the dream.

That was not, however, reality.

***

It was a long time before Finn finally got Rey to stop. “Why are you mad at me? I saved your life?”

“You made a decision for a stranger,” She said, “I don’t want to get to know you further. Now leave me be.”

“Do you even know where you’re going?” He asked. “Because you’ve been walking in aimless directions for hours and that’s not a good thing to do in a desert.” Rey could hit this boy in the head. Who did he think he was? A stranger, a man who should not care about her at all.

“I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Sure, you don’t want to talk to me, but the two of us are in the middle of the desert, and if we don’t get to shelter, we’re probably going to be prey to creatures of the night.” He was right.

***

_Rey knew that people made mistakes. It was the one thing that really made people human. The mistakes they made didn’t make them evil, it made them human. Perhaps that’s what made her not afraid of Kylo Ren. To her, he just sounded like a scared boy who didn’t know what he was doing. “I like to think that wherever my parents are, they’ve forgotten about me.”_

_“Why would you want your parents to forget about you?”_

_“It would be easier that way,” He told her,_

_“trust me. After some of the things that I’ve done, it would just be easier that way.” His tone was pained, and Rey couldn’t help but move closer in the direction of his voice._

_“That sounds lonely,”_

_“It is, but I’ve gotten used to it.”_

_“No one should be used to being alone.”_

_“You are too, though.”_

_“I am.” Rey paused for a minute. She really did feel alone in the world, even though she tried not to. “So how about I make you a deal? How about we keep talking like this, and I can give you company, make sure that you’re never alone again?”_

_“That sounds like a good deal,” She could almost hear a smirk in his voice._

***

“Are you ready to accept my help?”

“You’re such a dick.” Rey’s whole body could descend into hell from the annoyance she was suffering as Finn started to lead the way.

“Listen, we just have to get to civilization and then the two of us never have to see each other again.”

  
“I can’t wait for that.” Rey said. “You’re really starting to get on my nerves.” What was actually starting to get on her nerves was the lack of solid ground, but that didn’t matter. Finn’s constant talking wasn’t helping very much at the moment. He kept on talking about random things, and Rey wondered if he was going to shut up when he started to get dehydrated.

  
That was a no.

  
He just started complaining about how hot he was.

  
That wasn’t going to help either. Rey thought that this was going to be a very long day ahead of her.


End file.
